atc

The most recent Very Berry Handmade Fabric ATC swap was home sweet home themed. My partner this time actually was the lovely person who I got my last card from. She lives all the way in Brazil, and she sent me this card at Christmas. Her brief was that she likes pink and candy colours, and as I have been following her Facebook page, I know she is also into patchwork.

This is what I came up with. I did it all on the sewing machine, and used a combination of appliqué, very scrappy patchwork and a butterfly button.I think it is my favourite card I’ve made so far. Just using zig zag stitch around the edge is also by far the easiest and tidiest way I’ve edged a card too. I will be doing that again next time! However, you really should check out the swap Flickr page. There were some absolutely beautiful cards being swapped again.

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I got my lovely ATC in the post the other day. I have been waiting in excitement for the post every day for at least a week, and I was definitely not disappointed when it came. I never have been – my cards are all so different and beautiful in their own little way. This is how my card came wrapped up and also the little note to explain the the background to the card. I’ve got a little collection of the notes that have come with my cards, I like having a bit of background to the inspiration behind the project.And now for the card. I LOVE this card because it is so “me.” The tower is slightly Oxford (where I went to university) and dreaming spires, and the tea ribbon is brilliant. I actually have a small piece left in my stash 🙂 I drink lots of tea, to the extent that my work colleagues now just don’t even ask me when they do a round, I just get a cup as standard. So all in all, it is a triumph and it is now safely nestled with my growing collection.

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Another ATC swap from Very Berry Handmade is here. Apparently, this is the biggest ever with over 50 sign ups. I think I’ve taken part in all of them apart from the first one now. The swap is an enjoyable challenge, as you have to think small which is harder than it sounds!I love the sound of the theme, and have a few ideas already.I treated myself to a bag of scraps from Wychbags the other week, and there are some great ATC-sized scraps for me to use. I particularly like the daisy print fabric. It is kind of a thin corduroy, and will be included somewhere in my ATC I’m sure!

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I received my ATC on Christmas Eve, and then promptly went on holiday, so I haven’t yet had chance to post it yet. Here it is though, isn’t it cute? It came all the way from a very hot Brazil, and from Bea at Juntando Arte. It’s always nice to have post from far away, so much more exciting than bills. As I display all my ATCs throughout the year, Bea made it wintery but not too Christmasy, so it won’t look out of place when it finally gets warm here. Apparently, Bea used to live in the UK for three years and really loved it here. I must be honest, I love it here too (especially Brighton) but I do wish it was a bit warmer and drier…

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Oh my, it’s the start of December already! Where has the year gone? So much has happened this year, it has just flown by most of the time. As some of you may know, I joined in with the Very Berry Handmade Winter Sparkle ATC swap, and I’ve finally completed my ATC. I decided to use a fair isle knitting pattern as a cross stitch pattern, to get an authentic Christmas jumper look. I do love a good Christmas jumper. I’ve not done any cross stitch in ages – I have forgotten how much I enjoy it!

I used this pattern below as my main guide. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens on Pinterest, there is just a link to the image, and you can’t make it any bigger. It still worked fine, but it needed a bit more careful concentration to make sure it was counted properly.

I also used a couple of other patterns as inspiration for the zig zag pattern. Here is my final design, I’m so chuffed with it.I used a scrap of material onto the back and sandwiched a piece of card inside, to give it all some strength. Unfortunately, it got too dark for photos at about about 2.30, so I can’t take a picture of it all together. I’ll try and get one up soon though.

As usual, there are some great ATCs already up on the Flickr page, why not go and have a look?

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Just a quick post to let you know that Very Berry Handmade has launched a winter sparkle ATC swap today! Spaces are limited to 40, so make sure you sign up quickly. You can sign up by leaving a comment on this post.

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Well I have been on holiday AGAIN (I know, I’m so lucky!) When I got back from holiday, I not only had a nice pile of birthday cards, I also had my ATC, all the way from Australia. It is quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen. It is from Larisa at Stitching Notes, and she explains a bit more about it in this blog post. The theme was “getting away from it all” and this is what Larisa said her inspiration was.

Knitting used to be a huge part of my life, it was my relaxing time, my by myself time, my getting away from it all time and my stay warm in winter tactic as well. I loved it! Scarfs, hats, gloves, mittens, jumpers, dresses, cardigans, with buttons and ties, with any ornaments and stitches, with buckles and pom-poms… you name it. There was nothing too complicated for me to make when it came to knitting. There was always someone to share all the tricks and tips on knitting with and to compare our achievements.

The Very Berry Handmade Flickr page has some lovely pictures of some of the other ATCs which have been winging their way around the world – why not take a look? I have a collection of knitting needles which belonged to my great grandmother, and this little card has inspired me to at least pick them up and attempt knitting in the near future. Wish me luck!